How is your work life balance?

Mine now is great. We had a webinar on work life balance and how to manage stress and make tume for yourself this week actually. Most are wfh roles where I am now but lots of online resources like meditation classes and therapy we can access free if we want. The balance is about prioritising your well being really, however that may be possible.

I'm sure you've looked at ways to reduce the extra work you do but have you discussed with others? Is anyone doing it differently and having better results? Can you outsource anything? Even if you get half an hour back it's a start. Have you discussed some of the more specific issues on teacher forums?

If you do look at other roles, remember it's not just about hours. I worked for a company where we never had to work late or start early but we were never able to get any down time during the day. To the point it made people ill with the stress of it. Insane deadlines that one manager always made sure we hit so the higher managers never realised how relentless it was, and then kept increasing the work. As mentioned before, see what Glassdoor etc. have to say as a good starting point.

At the moment it’s great as I’m doing hybrid in my home office and WFH so I have a short or no commute and don’t work much more than my contracted hours. BUT i have periods when I work away in client offices and can be leaving home at 6:30-7am, away for a couple of night, work long days while away and get home at 8pm exhausted which then has a knock on effect to everything else. But I get paid pretty well for the amount of stress I’m under and my typical work life balance.

@cuddlebear how did you find this job? I have experience facilitating adult learning sessions so I think I could do this but then again age is possibly against me.

Another civil servant here, there are loads of former teachers at work! Great work/life balance, I work 30 hours a week, 2 from home and 2 in the office. Flexitime so can pop out for random school events in the middle of the day or get extra hours I work back. I would be on 36k if I was full time

Mine is terrible. I'm a teacher. We have lots of new initiatives, curriculum changes and staff off. Was marking at 4.30 this morning. I can't take much more. Am out of house nearli 12 h and then have work to do after eaten.

I was a teacher and it was very stressful and work life balance was rubbish. I changed roles, dropped wages by about half and was much happier. 5 years later I'm bored and re training.

And my additional hours were for 47 weeks a year (as I had 5 weeks hols)

Ps I was not a teacher

I was doing 3-4 hours a day extra in addition to my full time hours for no extra pay- I voted with my feet and got a better paying job which only required my full time hours and have since been promoted and can absolutely stick to my hours - I do do more than my hours but I do get a great work balance and it isn't every day I do extra - and I get some flexibility in return.

There is an a limited number of other jobs where you’re expected to do 2/3 hours a night on top of a full working week!

I’m still in, unfortunately, but very unhappy and desperate to leave. Not quite sure which way to turn though and don’t want to jump out of the frying pan into the fire.

I work from home 9 - 5:30, earning £45,000. I never start earlier than 9 or work a minute past 5:30 - our calls come through a switchboard and it's not possible for clients to reach us outside of these hours. We are actively encouraged to log off at 5:30. I also take my full hour lunch break every day.

It was very obvious! A few of us guessed it, probably all ex teachers.

I develop and deliver in house training within my organisation now. So bloody easy in comparison and more money.

Good luck.

I work in financial services. Would be on 62 if full time, but I work 21 hours term time only.

Try not to work overtime, but am happy to be flexible.

Primary teacher...work life balance is shit 💩 Prior to the start of this current year, I very easily racked up 70 hours a week (we don't get paid overtime...the mantra is 'do it for the children' and we are supposed to smile sweetly and say 'give me MORE work', as we flagellate ourselves publicly 'for the children')😩

I've just taken my teacher pension and cut down to three days a week teaching...I'm still racking up 45-50 hours though (despite only being paid for 19.5 which is our 3 day contracted hours). It's a joke! A full time teacher is only paid for 32.5 hours (which we've worked out doesn't even cover the core hours in school since the 'school day' was extended last year!)

This is not even including the incessant, mandatory 'online CPD' training that we are all mandated to do outside the school working day! I have put in a formal complaint about this to our Trust (this term alone we are mandated to complete 4 of these, totalling 14 hours of unpaid training!) Last academic year we completed 57 hours of online CPD in our own time 😩

At 60, though, I have no illusions that I'd be good at anything else, let alone considered employable by another industry.

My work life balance is excellent. I work 24 hours a week for the council. I would be on £32,000.00 if I was full time. I work permanently from home. I have to be in the phones until 5:00 one day a week. The other days I have flexibility on start and finish times. I can pop out to pick kids up from school I just have to record it on my flexi sheet. If I work over 24 hours a week I can take the time back as flexi.

Mine is great.

WFH three days a week and in the office two. Contracted 35 hours and probably do 40 but generally set my own schedule. Tend to finish by 5.30 every day and no issues if I need to take time during the day for an appointment etc.

Sr. corporate services role in the engineering sector. High salary, big team and have the stress of needing to make a lot of decisions that have big legal impacts.

I work FT from home. I have SEN DC and ASD DH and just don't have time for work. DH works FT from home too. Whereas I pick up house things during my working day (empty/reload dishwasher, wipe kitchen surfaces, xfer laundry from washing machine to dryer type of thing) in-between breaks, meetings and while listening to meetings but not actually needing to speak, DH says he is not capable of doing this and does nothing house wise in the day (but does have time to cook himself a lot of food and watch some tv. Enough said). I also oversee home schooling for 1 DC and am heavily supporting him through one specific subject that I excel in. I sit in on this subject lesson with him for 40 mins every day. I take this time as my lunch time. Then there is all the home admin (yes, I call it this and yes it takes a lot out of me mentally), general school stuff, cleaning the house, dropping DC to clubs etc, socialising, gym, seeing family, weekly food shop. DRAINING. Work has to fit in around all this, which is a huge struggle to achieve.

My job is very flexible and whilst flexitime isn't in the policy we all do it. I work 2 days from home which allows me to drop and pick my daughter up from school. Often if I'm called after pick up she's in the meeting with me.
I leave at 2.45 one day to do pick up my daughter and then log on at home to make up the hour.

I'm a teacher.
You can probably guess.

I presume you’re a teacher?

I wouldn’t recommend it as a job to my worst any any more!

Teacher here and used to do similar. Now have two children under four and decided to stop (currently head of core faculty). I work very hard at work 8-5, 4 days a week, and usually equivalent to a couple of hours a week at home depending on marking time of year. I read fast.

I decided to stop doing things that didn’t have much impact, use all my planning time and breaks effectively, and spent thinking time on strategies for sensible marking and feedback policies. So basically to transfer to your job; try to look afresh - is there anything that if someone else new came in, they’d stop doing or change? If you describe your job to someone else would it be helpful as they might spot some things to change? Chat to your manager about expectation - I’d be horrified if my staff were doing this at home.

Are you a teacher?

I work FT for a not for profit. Earn around £53k

I work my 35 hours compressed so work 4 x 8.75 hours. It’s fantastic. I WFH most of the time and have huge amounts of flexibility.

I'm in exactly the same boat.

I think sometimes the more senior you become (in certain roles anyway), the more flexibility and fewer hours you do.

Im on a six figure salary but rarely work over my contracted hours, have tonnes of flexibility, wfh etc. I am acutely aware that I am privileged and count my lucky stars every day this is the case. I'm sure it won't last forever, but I'm enjoying it whilst it does!